TANYA HARMON

Over the years, I have gone through phases with my relationship to movement – a water baby on the beach as a kid, aerobics in my teens (think legwarmers and headbands), lifting and running after little kids in my twenties, running marathons in my thirties. And then, I discovered yoga.

As a marathon runner at the time, the rigor of Ashtanga yoga suited my drive to exercise and provided excellent cross-training in strength and flexibility. After many years of dipping in and out of various styles of yoga, my practice has evolved, much as my life has, to a much slower, softer pace.

Like most of us, I’ve been through my share of hard times. In 2015, after suffering with deep physical and emotional pain for over two years, which I had attempted to address with counselling, massage, chiropractic care, and physical therapy, I attended a restorative therapeutic yoga class at Maa Yoga Studio in North Vancouver, led by the brilliant Lindsay Collins, and found immediate relief. 

At the end of that first class, I felt soothed and grounded in a way that I had not known was possible. Within weeks of first practicing, I was physically pain free and well on the path to healing in my grief journey. I knew I had to share this work with others.

In gratitude, I took my first 200 hour Yoga Teacher Certification course and have been a continuous student and instructor ever since, with certifications in Hatha, Yin, Restorative, Gentle Somatic Yoga, and many other trainings listed below. I aim to honour my teachers and the beautiful humans who attend my classes by offering the practices that have been most instrumental in my healing.

Guiding mindful movement is my very favourite thing (also walking in nature with my dogs, playing with my grandchildren, laughing with my partner and friends… ok, it is one of my most favourite things)! Whether after a fiery strength and balance sequence, or a gentle somatic restorative class, there is no better feeling than sharing space with a group of people, lying on the ground, maybe draped over bolsters and tucked under blankets, in final resting pose. And then seeing everyone float into their lives afterward. It is magical.

I love it so much and I hope to meet you there!